The Boston Globe’s John Hilliard asked candidates for mayor Scott Lennon and Ruthanne Fuller ten questions including about the charter, our village centers, housing and transportation. And John also asked Newton residents about their choices for mayor.
In addition, today I had the privilege to moderate a chamber debate with the two candidates at Mount Ida College. We talked about tax overrides, the school budget, unions, health care, Northland, management styles and big ideas.
In the Globe interview, they’re basically saying the same things.
@Meredith this was one question where I saw a difference
6. How will you add bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly streets into the city?
Lennon: We’ve heard a lot about strategic planning in this race, but we have a transportation strategy, we have a plan that has been done, that has had a lot of different input from different people here in the city… you need someone who is going to roll up his sleeves, pick up the plan, and move on it.
Fuller: As we improve the condition of our streets and the sidewalks, we have to be very strategic about making sure the streets serve all users, whether they are driving, walking, or biking, whether they are young or old, and that our streets are safe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
I’ve noticed lately that Scott is really highlighting that he is the one who can get it done. Ruthanne is always talking strategy, (not surprising since that is her background) which is important, but at some point you have to get it done. I actually think Ruthanne’s skill set is better suited to CC and “Blue Ribbon Commissions” than Mayor, but we will see what the people think.
Thanks Greg.
The candidates have very similar positions. I think either one will do a great job. I’m going to have to go with my gut on this one and so far it’s leaving me hanging.
I really enjoyed reading the comments from the residents of Newton. All were interesting.
@Marti,
There is a debate on Sunday . Maybe that would help. Better yet would be to go to a Meet and Greet for each. I find having the ability to interact with the candidates VERY informative
1pm Mayoral
2pm School Committee
3pm Charter
Sigh… will either candidate ever say something that’s one millimeter away from the consensus? They both sound like they’re reading from a cheat sheet prepared by a consultant.
My feeling is if the debate continues to be this lukewarm and meaningless it will act in Lennon’s favor.
Claire, I’ve seen enough debates at this point – unless a new important issue comes up. I’ve talked to each more than once. They agree on almost everything that is important to me. They have different styles but that’s about it.
There were distinct differences between Lennon and Fuller at this morning’s chamber debate, particularly regarding unions, outsourcing and health insurance.
@Greg will we get video or just the audio?
There is a Facebook live video on the Newton Needham Chamber page but the sound is not ideal, although it was fun to see both candidates in matching Hawaiian shirts.
@Claire – location?
@Meredith
http://newton.wickedlocal.com/news/20171016/nacs-to-host-mayoral-school-committee-charter-debates-sunday
Traditionally the final 2 weeks of a campaign finds candidates on autopilot having cast their fate to the hands of the voters. This is a time for casual or casualty, allowing voters listening to audio only, to decide which style of speech they prefer to listen to in future ‘state of the city’ ‘CIP presentation’, etc.
Scott is delivering the hard hit number facts indicative of his crunching professional state background. Having the gumption from day one to slipstream smoothly into leadership.
Ruthanne the flowing sweet & tough questioning of possibilties, such as retort to union endorsements mean? ‘imaginings’ what does that mean?
How does one attack a woman, esp a sweet, intelligent, well-coached colleague?
What Greg said. If you compare the statement Ruthanne sent to the NTA (and Village 14) and what she said in this debate about health insurance (at around 28 minutes), you will note a significant difference.
Another difference is that Lennon is outspokenly opposed to outsourcing the school custodians but Fuller has been more ambiguous. Their answers in the NTA survey highlight this but I’ve seen/heard this elsewhere, too.
Harry, one doesn’t.
Greg,
I admit to not finishing the Mt Ida debate until this morning. I should have done so before commenting.
Yes, there are clear differences in those three things. Lennon supports keeping the hiring of custodians in-house. So do I.
Lennon supports keeping health insurance local. Fuller says she will not take GIC off the table.
Lennon thinks Newton’s financial forecast is being done correctly leading to a AAA bond rating while Fuller thinks it needs to be done differently.
Lennon makes concrete statements about what he will do – takes a stand – while Fuller seems to always need more data.
Ok. See what you mean!
I heard some differences, but nothing that makes me go “yes, this is definitely the candidate I prefer”. Neither one inspires me to encourage others to choose them (as opposed to my local ward councilor race, for example, where I have a strong preference).
Of course I have some personal biases, including seeing having a Hahvahd MBA or 100% of unions endorsing one as negatives. But my biases don’t strongly incline me against either candidate. I may not decide until I’m in the voting booth with marker in hand.
Why is having a Harvard MBA a “negative” for a city’s chief executive?
Greg – I’m biased against Harvard (from personal experience), and especially the Business School, because I think they’ve done a lot of damage. It’s a personal bias, not one I think others should necessarily agree with. Which is why I labeled it as a bias rather than a serious negative. I don’t see all MBAs as negatives though I’d prefer to see a degree in public administration rather than one focused on business, because I think the priorities in running a private company should be different than those for government since the two should have different goals.
@Greg.. …That was a great debate! I know you and I got off on the wrong foot with you calling me sexist and a troll and all, but I forgive you 🙂 Excellent moderation! Helped that the sound system was better that at the Eliot Church. You did a good job ensuring the candidate answered the question!
Tense moment at 31:39 when RAF said something like “I’ll let you imagine why” the unions back Scott (just a tad passive aggressive) and he challenged her.
But all in all some significant differences. I for one am looking forward to tomorrow’s debates
Thanks Claire
If you’re going to increase business’s on Wells Ave, the city needs to figure out a second or third egress. Tough.
also maybe widen wells st, too
@Claire
Really, you liked the “tell us why unions don’t like you” question? It was asked with the intent to put her on the spot. And what does “liking” have to do with choosing one candidate over the other? Why not ask Scott? The unions would have been more likely to share “we like you better” with him than with her.
And speaking of words – I’d like to mention my disappointment of Scott’s use of Ruthanne’s sarcastic remark of “good luck” made the day before (I think to Greg) about having to navigate traffic on Needham street, to imply that this is all she had to say on the traffic situation on that street (10:20). I think we can do without this kind of “Trumpian” below the belt stuff, and hope we won’t hear any of that at either debate tomorrow (Angier at 1 pm and Temple Shalom at 4 pm).
Councilor Fuller’s “good luck” remark was directed at someone from Northland who was in the audience in reference to their proposed Needham Street project.
@Marti Bowen
You wrote: “Lennon makes concrete statements about what he will do – takes a stand – while Fuller seems to always need more data”.
To imply that she doesn’t act is misleading. Her diligent data collection/analysis lead to numerous vital contributions to the city’s welfare:
Ruthanne co-led the Newton Citizen’s Advisory Group in 2002, and the group’s work resulted in a comprehensive assessment on our city financial structure which is still the blueprint for how we run Newton today.
She made much needed contributions to several elementary school projects as well, combining her strategic and tactical talents with her ability to effectively reach out to the community. These projects are well underway.
Ruthanne (together with Deb Crossley) also took on the issue of our antiquated sewer and water systems, analyzing – you guessed it – data, and then planning for the financing and repair of said systems, resulting in improvements and more to come in the future.
Her data collection and analytical skills came in handy again when Ruthanne realized several years ago that we need to address the unfunded retiree benefits liability. It lead to the creation and leading of a working group of finance professionals to put out a detailed analysis of our OPEB crisis. In other words, it is because of her leadership that we know the extent of the issue.
@Greg
[10:18]”…but I did want to touch on something that Councilor Fuller had said when she talked about driving down Newton Street last night, and she looked at you and said “good luck”. It is not about “good luck”, it’s about working proactively together… [seguing into what he was going to do as Mayor].
So I guess I don’t know who was meant with “she looked at you”, but the whole thing was a jab.
@Patricia Loewry “Trumpian”??????????
I agree that Fuller “always seems to neee more data.” It seems like a tactic to avoid giving a real answer.
OK, after rereading my comment concerning needing more data vs taking a stand and digging right in, it definitely sounds like I prefer Lennon’s action over Fuller’s needing more data. I didn’t intend it to be that way. (I’m having a bit of a time zeroing in on what I want to say on this thread.) I don’t know that either approach is necessarily better than the other.
Patricia, I know all of those things that Fuller has accomplished – they are admirable. I’m impressed. I guess to make sure her experience with the CAG, the Blue Ribbon Commission and strategic planning gets to as many voters as possible (I even understand why), she needs to keep repeating it.
Lennon is more of a defender of the financial status quo (using Newton’s move up to a AAA bond rating as a measurement) so it’s easier for him to take a stand and state what he intends to do.
Where municipal financial projections are concerned my experience has all been in the private sector so I have had to do a lot of data mining myself. Since Fuller has such vast financial experience in Newton, I would like to hear what specifically she might change in forecasting.
Lennon’s public sector management experience is a plus but Fuller’s coordination of the CAG and working on school building committees is too.
Greg, I agree that you did a great job as moderator. I like the mild rough and tumble atmosphere in this type of public forum better than the totally structured kind. I think it led to seeing a few different colors than other forums have. It’s more like a real debate. Fuller’s comment ending in wishing Northland “good luck” was obviously directed toward the construction and congestion nightmares. I think most listeners know what Lennon did but it still leads to speculation. Good ole Newton politics.
(Every time I type CAG, I’m thrown back into the lingo used in the Navy during Vietnam Nam.)
I think Greg is right: Ruthanne and Scott are very different on unions, outsourcing, and health insurance.
I’m going to comment on the last issue, on whether Newton should consider joining the state run GIC or Government Insurance Commission.
Scott says that when Newton reviews the health insurance coverage it provides to employees, every year they do a comparative analysis of Newton’s self-insured coverage and costs to the coverage and costs of the GIC, and every year the decision to remain self-insured is clearly in the City’s best interest.
Ruthanne says that the GIC is good health insurance and that Newton should give it real consideration.
I’m perplexed, because I can tell you as co-chair of the Insurance Advisory Commission (with Tom Lopez, President of the Newton Firefighters) that we have regular conversations with the city’s Chief Financial Officer Maureen Limieux, and Scott has described exactly what happens: the GIC gets its due consideration every year, and comes up short in about every way. Here are just a few:
1. The GIC is a struggling institution that is on life support right now.
2. GIC costs are going through the roof. For years now, premiums have been going up more on average than have premiums for Newton’s plans. There were years they would have had to go up over 10% to cover increasing costs, but rather than raise premiums this much, the GIC has instead regularly increased co-pays and deductibles, cost-shifting the burden of ineffective cost-management onto employees.
3. The GIC has been forced to close to new members its two most popular plans, Harvard Independence and Tufts Navigator.
4. While these now closed plans might have worked for Newton employees, the plans that are now open and available would not. Instead, Newton employees would either have to choose more expensive indemnity plans, or use the GIC’s limited network plans, which would not include Newton Wellesley and most metro Boston hospital and provider groups.
4. Because Newton’s plans are well-managed, it is able to offer its employees health insurance with reasonable out of pocket maximums for both individuals and families. The GIC out-of-pocket maximums are five times ours for an individual, $5,000, and four times ours for a family ($10,000).
There is real human cost here. All of Newton’s employees would be forced to pay more for less, or find new doctors.
For some of my members, the financial costs could be devastating: Thirty to forty percent of the members the NTA represents, primarily aides, earn on average between $25,000 to $30,000 per year–gross, before they pay taxes and health insurance premiums. With these types of co-pays, anyone who became seriously ill or was injured, or had the same happen to a family member, would have to face a financial crisis on top of a this medical crisis. Many of Newton’s retirees are on even more limited incomes. To raise their out–of-pocket expenses this much this fast would be simply unconscionable.
5. Finally, the Citizen’s Advisory Group report that Ruthanne Fuller repeatedly lauds specifies a group of educationally comparable communities to Newton: Belmont, Brookline, Concord-Carlisle, Lexington, Lincoln-Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston. It is important to note that educator salaries in Newton have fallen appreciably behind the salaries in almost all of these communities. The one area where Newton often (though not always) has a competitive advantage in hiring and retention is the reliable and well-managed health insurance it offers.
At the same time Newton salaries have declined relative to salaries in this benchmark group, it has also become much more competitive for anyone to hire and retain educators. New teachers enter the profession with a large student debt burden and hopes of someday owning a home and raising a family. Even if, all other things equal, they might choose Newton, all other things are not equal. Both new employees entering the profession and current employees making decisions about where to live and raise a family have to weigh dollars and cents. And Newton is losing ground in this arena. It simply does not make sense to give up this competitive advantage.
So, to return to Scott Lennon’s point: every year Newton does consider the GIC, and every year it is clear that Newton’s own self-insured plans are more well-managed and much less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of statewide and national politics. They remain a better choice both for Newton’s employees and for Newton’s bottom line.
Ruthanne presents the GIC as if it were serious option that she thinks should be considered to address Newton’s financial stability. But since it has been considered and rejected numerous times, it sounds to me like what she is really promising is a silver bullet. It is certainly not a serious proposal. Rather, it demonstrates one of two things: a real lack of understanding of the state of health insurance policy and practice in Massachusetts, and in Newton, at this time, or a willingness and desire to pick a fight with the unions to make herself stand out relative to Scott.
Or maybe it’s a little of each: bad policy and bad politics.
The GIC is often presented as the panacea to the healthcare issues facing the city and the country. What is not well known is that it’s in terrible financial condition and has been for years. That’s why so few of the 351 cities and towns have opted into it (39) and some are opting out.
This isn’t 1990 when Newton offered premier salary and benefits and was one of a handful of communities where top candidates sought a position. In 2017, we’re in a highly competitive job market for top candidates in the region and we need to maintain every advantage we have.
We aren’t keeping up with comparable communities in terms of salary. However, the fact that we’re self-insured has helped us level the playing field when recruiting top candidates. Brookline, on the other hand, joined the GIC and had to raise salaries significantly to remain competitive with comparable communities.
Then there’s the issue of millennial’s student debt. We need to attract the young educators who provide new energy, ideas, and vigor to our school system. Yet this generation of educators very often have tens of thousands of dollars in debt when they complete a Masters program necessary to procure a position in a district school system. They have no choice but to look at which community is offering the best financial package so that they can pay back their burdensome loans.
We need to look at the recruitment and retention of educators as part of the decision making process. Our schools are more than a spreadsheet – we need to make choices that are financially sound, and at the same time, look at the long-term effects of the decisions we make today.
Patricia – The people who deserve the credit for getting the city back on solid financial footing are those people who’ve done the hard work on a daily basis for years.
The CAG Report is a 10 years old document at this point, and was conceived before a deep recession and unexpected significant school enrollment.